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I just heard from a friend who's never been wrong that the new OC will be...Andy Ludwig.

Yes, that sounds like a joke, and I have been making them. So I'll take all the ribbing in the world if I am wrong. But this source is connected to the program and has now said I could post the info. He also told me Sarkisian is going to the Packers, where he'll make lots more than he could at Utah.

Maybe Andy wanted to get home to Utah? I didn't know he was from there.

Andy Ludwig is an American football coach. He currently is the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at Vanderbilt University. He played college football at Snow College and Portland State graduating in 1988.Wikipedia

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats

“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

I just heard from a friend who's never been wrong that the new OC will be...Andy Ludwig.

Yes, that sounds like a joke, and I have been making them. So I'll take all the ribbing in the world if I am wrong. But this guy is connected to the program and has now said I could post the info. He also told me Sarkisian is going to the Packers, where he'll make lots more than he could at Utah.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats

“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

Historically it seems to me that Kyle has hired offensive coordinators he felt comfortable with, in the sense that they would not buck him. (This is not a dig at Kyle, I think most head coaches want that.) Now...if he really was serious about Rich Rod, then that would be a departure from that pattern, so your point is very intriguing. I don’t believe he would hire a hot shot from Oklahoma State, but I am prepared to be surprised and delighted.

"Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparent that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the Church if he does so discreetly." - The Walking Drum

"And here’s what life comes down to—not how many years you live, but how many of those years are filled with bullshit that doesn’t amount to anything to satisfy the requirements of some dickhead you’ll never get the pleasure of punching in the face." – Adam Carolla

"Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparent that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the Church if he does so discreetly." - The Walking Drum

"And here’s what life comes down to—not how many years you live, but how many of those years are filled with bullshit that doesn’t amount to anything to satisfy the requirements of some dickhead you’ll never get the pleasure of punching in the face." – Adam Carolla

Official Utah Utes 2019 Football Season Thread

Originally Posted by sancho

Maybe a make but not a swish. LA predicted that Whitt would be unwilling to hire someone outside of his circle. By all accounts, Whitt tried unsuccessfully to hire people outside of his circle, only to come back in the end to someone in his circle.

In fact, I hit nothing but net. This is the quintessential Whittingham OC hire. The swish was audible all the way from here in L.A.

Last edited by LA Ute; 01-08-2019 at 06:04 PM.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats

“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats

“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

Sancho,
Are you saying in point #4 that Taylor was reportedly hard to work with? I haven't heard that - not that I'm disagreeing. I've heard that Taylor struggled with Whit but it seemed to be more of Taylor not being prepared to be questioned and pressured. Hence, his desire to be a head coach even if it means returning to FCS. If he was difficult to work with that's new to me and explains even more the willingness on both sides to part ways.

I’m happy with the Ludwig hire. He’s a known quantity who has succeeded in the last and is able to get along with KW — stayed longer than any other OC under Whitt. I’m not disappointed because I tried to keep realistic expectations. Ludwig could be just what we needed.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats

“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

One thing that I like is that he should provide stability. At this point in his career, he's a college OC. He's not going to the NFL, and he's not going to become a head coach. If Utah wants to keep him, we should be able to keep him for as long as we want.

This all kind of underscores for me that as fans we tend to be, as Mayor Quimby would put it, "a pack of fickle mush heads". I was among those dissatisfied with Ludwig at the time, and while I am not jumping for joy at his hiring, I think he can get the long wanted task of establishing an "average offense to pair with our elite defense." that will hopefully get us over the hump. So I am happy he is apparently back.

Looking back at all we've been through I wish he would have stayed on board all along, but his moving about the college football world has probably expanded his abilities quite a bit too.

...while I am not jumping for joy at his hiring, I think he can get the long wanted task of establishing an "average offense to pair with our elite defense" that will hopefully get us over the hump. So I am happy he is apparently back.

Yes.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats

“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

Based on rumors here and on Utah Twitter, these are some of the things I currently believe:

1) Whitt talked to a lot of people. We've already heard about Sark, Ludwig, Sanford Sr, RichRod, Detmer, and McCoy. How many did we not hear about? The fact that he talked to Detmer indicates to me that he was trying to talk to just about everyone.

2) We never had a shot with Sark. He strung us along as a backup plan until the NFL thing became solid. We can't compete with the money and prestige, and in some ways, an NFL coordinator is an easier job. Plus, he went to school in a very bizarre part of Utah. If he judges the entire state by that experience, the thought of living in SLC probably didn't give him warm fuzzies.

3) Whitt wants someone with experience calling games at a high level. He also wants someone with experience working with the type of offense and personnel we have right now. He knows we have a good team now. He can't afford to wait on some FCS guy to get his sea legs, and he can't afford to wait on a major overhaul of scheme.

4) Whitt wants someone who will get along with players and staff. In the carousel, he's had two guys who turned out to be hard to work with. One of them reportedly cost us our most heralded recruit of all time. He fired a players' coach in order to bring Taylor here, and he may regret that decision.

5) Ludwig was not our 1st or 2nd choice. Maybe not our 3rd or 4th. But he does have the experience necessary. He has worked with various types of offenses at a high level of college football. Presumably, he is also easy to work with.

So that's my story. Whitt ruled out FCS and DII right off the bat. Then he reached out to many (dozens?) of people across college football and the NFL to gauge interest and fit. After a few (2? 3?) failed attempts to hire someone, he settled on someone he knows. He wanted a splashier hire for recruiting purposes, but he at knows he landed an experienced playcaller.

Like I said, my story is based off of rumor only. Feel free to poke holes in it.

I think a lot of what you say makes sense. I just have to get one thing off my chest: there is a 0.0% chance that Utah was talking to Detmer about being the OC. Any contact between Utah and Detmer would have been to gauge his interest in working as QB coach under Harding as the OC. I'm sorry, I just can't abide the idea that Utah was interested in Detmer as OC after his offense at BYU was such a colossal failure. That BYU offense made Utah's ARod offenses look like the LA Rams.

Also, I can buy that Sark may have only viewed Utah as a backup plan. However, Utah has often been a backup plan for players and coaches who still come here when their other plans don't pan out and do quite well. I do think there was plenty of mutual interest between Sark and Utah.

Other names I've heard that you didn't list: Zak Hill of Boise State and Robert Anae, FWIW.

I think a lot of what you say makes sense. I just have to get one thing off my chest: there is a 0.0% chance that Utah was talking to Detmer about being the OC. Any contact between Utah and Detmer would have been to gauge his interest in working as QB coach under Harding as the OC. I'm sorry, I just can't abide the idea that Utah was interested in Detmer as OC after his offense at BYU was such a colossal failure. That BYU offense made Utah's ARod offenses look like the LA Rams.

Also, I can buy that Sark may have only viewed Utah as a backup plan. However, Utah has often been a backup plan for players and coaches who still come here when their other plans don't pan out and do quite well. I do think there was plenty of mutual interest between Sark and Utah.

Other names I've heard that you didn't list: Zak Hill of Boise State and Robert Anae, FWIW.

Ute nation would probably have a visceral reaction to Anae getting hired, but watching UVA's bowl game, he runs a lot of what I would think fans would want. Dynamic QB, power run game, athletic WRs and uses the TE.

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“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats

“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”